Background

This Los Angeles, California-based band is one of the few truly innovative acts in death metal, mixing industrial-style electronic rhythms and samples with grinding guitars and harsh vocals to create their own brutal soundscape. Formed in late 1991 with the line-up of Burton C. Bell (vocals), Dino Cazares (guitar, who has an additional side project, Brujeria ), Andrew Shives (bass) and Raymond Herrera (drums), the band rapidly made an impact with two tracks on the LA Death Metal compilation, produced by Faith No More bass player Bill Gould, and subsequently signed to Roadrunner Records.

The Colin Richardson-produced Soul Of A New Machine established Fear Factory as a genuine death metal force, with a good collection of songs delivered with originality and ferocity. Meanwhile, the band set about developing their live show on their debut tour with Brutal Truth in Europe, followed by US dates with Sick Of It All and Biohazard.

Fear Is The Mind Killer, a mini-album of remixes by Canadian industrialists Front Line Assembly, demonstrated further dimensions and possibilities available to the Factory sound by adding an industrial dance edge, bringing the band further acclaim.

These U.S. dates will be in support of upcoming album "Genexus" and follow a run with Coal Chamber this month.

"We are pumped to playing our first U.S. headline dates in support of our new album,” commented guitarist Dino Cazares. “We feel these shows will be a great blend of our new songs, along with tons of material from our classics! We are also proud to bring 3 fresh new bands as support acts; each offering something different.”

Support will come from Once Human, Before The Mourning, and The Bloodline. Dates for the trek are as follows: More...

A second lyric video is now online from Fear Factory's impending "Genexus" album, set to detonate via Nuclear Blast on August 9th.

Check out the new lyric clip for "ProtoMech" below, and if you missed it you can still see the previous video for "Soul Hacker" at this location.

While the band is eagerly anticipating the new album's release, Fear Factory is also taking a look back into the past and will be performing "Demanufacture" in its entirety on upcoming European shows to celebrate that album's 20th anniversary. Details at this location.

The pioneers of industrial-tinged extreme metal from Fear Factory are proud to announce they will be touring Europe in celebration of the 20th anniversary of second studio album "Demanufacture."

The tour will be a very rare event for fans with Fear Factory playing "Demanufacture" in its entirety. The band will also showcase songs from new album "Genexus," due out 7th August via Nuclear Blast.

Burton and Dino had to say of this unique event:

"If you had told us in 1995 that we would be touring 'Demanufacture' for its 20th Anniversary in 2015, we would have said 'YA RIGHT! GET FUCKED!' The years have flown by in colourful and adventurous memory. 2015 has arrived, and Fear Factory WILL be performing 'Demanufacture' in its entirety for the very first time for the UK and Ireland fans in December. We are very excited to perform this seminal album for the audience that made 'Demanufacture' a legendary success.” More...

Until then, the band is setting about whetting the appetite of eager fans by releasing the first trailer. Find out more about the new album and hear a snippet of the "Protomech" track below.

“The word genexus is a hybrid of two words; genesis and nexus,” explains vocalist Burton C. Bell. “This word describes the next transition in human evolution as man moves forward to a ‘mechanical’ state of being. Ray Kurzweil predicts that the singularity will occur around 2045. Genexus is the term for that next evolutionary process. Where humans are machines, machines are human and the differences are oblivious to the naked eye.

“This album is a record of thought patterns, psychology and struggles of the Genexus generation. The cognitive machine has arrived, and it wants autonomy from the industry that created it. This machine struggles, like every other human has throughout the course of history. This is the story of every one of us.” More...

In celebration of this occasion, the band will be holding a special pre-listening party prior to the album’s release on July 23rd at the Complex in Glendale (806 E. Colorado St., Glendale, CA 91205).

This event is for those 21 and over, totally FREE, and open to the general public. All attendees will be entered in a raffle for a chance to win a Fear Factory Genexus guitar, courtesy of Ibanez guitars.

"Please come and join me, Dino, Mike and Tony for a fun evening,” says vocalist Burton C. Bell. “We will have just returned from a European tour, and will be leaving the next day to tour with Coal Chamber! Have some liquid beverages and listen to the new album, as well as select songs that we will indulge you with. It will be a great evening!" More...

Dutch symphonic death metal act Epica announced its very own festival dubbed the "Epic Metal Fest." The lineup includes a headline performance by Epica along with Eluveitie, Fear Factory, Moonspell and Periphery, with more acts expected to be announced soon.

The event takes place on November 22, 2015 at Klokgebouw in the Netherlands. It will mark the final date in support of the current release "The Quantum Enigma" (see review here) as the band states:

"This will be our party of the year, the ultimate Dutch show we'll do before entering the studio to record the follow-up for 'The Quantum Enigma.' You really don't want to miss this!"

"Genexus" was produced by vocalist Burton C. Bell and guitarist Dino Cazares, and co-produced by long-time collaborator Rhys Fulber. The album was mixed by British producer and engineer Andy Sneap. Drums on "Genexus" were performed by Mike Heller (Malignancy).

“The word genexus is a hybrid of two words; genesis and nexus,” explains vocalist Burton C. Bell. “This word describes the next transition in human evolution as man moves forward to a ‘mechanical’ state of being. Ray Kurzweil predicts that the singularity will occur around 2045. Genexus is the term for that next evolutionary process. Where humans are machines, machines are human, and the differences are oblivious to the naked eye.

He goes on to say, “This album is a record of thought patterns, psychology and struggles of the Genexus generation. The cognitive machine has arrived, and it wants autonomy from the industry that created it. This machine struggles, like every other human has throughout the course of history. This is the story of every one of us.”

The pioneers of industrial-tinged extreme metal from Fear Factory have issued the following update regarding their upcoming 9th studio release, "Genexus:"

“The sensation of finalizing our newest album is one of relief and joy, wrapped within a massive whirlwind of excitement. We really feel this is a very special Fear Factory album. While being careful not to replicate ourselves, this album still has a very classic Fear Factory vibe that we feel will appease both old and new fans.

"The aggressive, melodic and industrial elements are all intact and shine more than ever. Burt and I produced the album with Rhys Fulber co-producing. Damien Rainuad and Giuseppe Bassi handled most of the keys and pre-production. We also enlisted the masterful metallic skills of Andy Sneap for an amazing mixing job! We would like to thank everyone who has been a big part in the making of this record. We can't wait for everybody to hear it.”

New album "Genexus" will be released on August 7th worldwide via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The record was co-produced by long-time collaborator Rhys Fulber, along with Cazares and Bell and mixed by Andy Sneap. In support of the album, Fear Factory will also perform live on these dates: More...

Coal Chamber & Down will both return to Michigan to headline the Dirt Fest 2015 on August 7th - 8th.

Down will make Dirt Fest 2015 the band's exclusive Michigan performance of 2015, joined by Pop Evil, Kottonmouth Kings, & more on Saturday August 8th. Down will close the night performing new and classic cuts spanning its 20+ year career.

For the first time since its history, Dirt Fest 2015 has expanded its event to 2 full days of music performances with Coal Chamber headlining Friday, August 7th along with Mushroomhead, Fear Factory, King 810, & more. More...

The Outaouais Rock team is proud to unveil the complete lineup for the 10th edition of Amnesia Rockfest, which will be held from June 18th to 21st at the Montebello marina in Quebec.

This year's edition will feature over 100 bands, including headliners System Of A Down (assuming you can wash the taste of that godawful "Crazy Train" cover out of your mouth by then...) and Linkin Park.

The Outaouais Rock team is proud to unveil the complete lineup for the 10th edition of Amnesia Rockfest, which will be held from June 18th to 21st at the Montebello marina in Quebec.

This year's edition will feature over 100 bands, including headliners System Of A Down (assuming you can wash the taste of that godawful "Crazy Train" cover out of your mouth by then...) and Linkin Park.

The Outaouais Rock team is proud to unveil the complete lineup for the 10th edition of Amnesia Rockfest, which will be held from June 18th to 21st at the Montebello marina in Quebec.

This year's edition will feature over 100 bands, including headliners System Of A Down (assuming you can wash the taste of that godawful "Crazy Train" cover out of your mouth by then...) and Linkin Park.

We’re changing things up this week on the MetalUnderground.com Official Podcast. We’ve heard your “I thought this was supposed to be underground!” cries loud and clear, which is why we’ve decided to shut up about Slipknot. For now.

Instead, we’re inviting all unsigned metal and hard rock bands to submit songs to podcast@metalunderground.com, which we’ll feature as intro and outro music. A brief plug will accompany the tunes, so help us keep things underground by helping us help you expose yourself. Not in THAT way.

This week features two songs, “Disconnect” and “Moving Forward,” from Lynchburg, Virginia rockers SingleSide. The tracks appear on the group’s full-length album “Moving Forward” (reviewed here). SingleSide is currently at work on a new album.

Also, if you live in or near South Florida, or have friends there, don’t forget to throw in for our upcoming ticket giveaways through Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale. The first is for The Black Dahlia Murder (supported by Suicide Silence) on Monday, October 13th, followed by Attila (supported by Crown The Empire and Like Moths To Flames) on Friday, November 14th. If interested, please submit your full name matching your ID to the email address above, with one (or both) of the headlining acts in the subject heading.

Next, co-host Mike Smith (OverkillExposure) uses Fear Factory’s recent signing to Nuclear Blast as an opportunity to reflect on the past, bygone greatness of Roadrunner Records, once the standard bearer in all things metal, now a corporate husk of its former glorious self.

[CORRECTION: Mike mistakenly cites Machine Head as still being signed to Roadrunner. They, too, are now in fact signed to Nuclear Blast. He does not regret the error, because the truth only bolsters his point. Stay tuned to hear his full thoughts.]

Finally, co-host Kevin Perez (n0thinghead) reacts to recent, admittedly vague, statements by Behemoth leader Adam “Nergal” Darski regarding the future of his band, and has some fun speculating on what might happen down the line.

Fear Factory has signed a deal for North America & Europe with Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The label comments:

"Formed in Los Angeles, California in 1989, Fear Factory changed the world of metal and have become a huge influence on the genre ever since their inception. The band’s unique sound helped bridge the gap between death metal, grindcore, thrash, and industrial on landmark releases like 'Soul Of A New Machine,' 'Demanufacture,' and the gold-selling release, 'Obsolete.'

"Fear Factory is currently working on material for a Nuclear Blast debut. The as-of-yet-untitled album will be co-produced by long-time collaborator Rhys Fulber, along with Cazares and Bell. A Winter 2015 release is expected."

Guitarist Dino Cazares had this to say: "Evolution and change are key elements in the non-stop growth of Fear Factory. With that said, I am proud to be back working alongside the first man to believe in what we were doing back in 1990. He took a chance and signed us, and the rest is history. Monte Conner, once the main A&R man at Roadrunner Records, has now once again come back into the Fear Factory family with his new home - Nuclear Blast Entertainment. We can't wait to deliver an epic new album to kick off this new era."

"Fear Factory is truly one of the groundbreaking metal bands of our time,” adds Conner. “On their 1992 debut 'Soul Of A New Machine,' Burton C. Bell introduced the world to the alternating heavy and melodic dual vocal approach that would go on to become a staple in metal to this very day. The following year, they were the first metal band to enter the industrial/dance remix world with the pioneering 'Fear Is The Mindkiller' EP. And look at the countless metal bands who have since imitated the unique machine gun-style rhythm section, created when Dino Cazares' staccato riffs locked in perfectly with the syncopated kick drums. I am excited to be reunited with this legendary band, and I am certain their Nuclear Blast Entertainment debut will be another Fear Factory classic."

Slipknot’s very own Knotfest has revealed additional bands for the October 24th - 26th destination festival held at San Manuel Amphitheater & Campgrounds in San Bernardino, CA.

Featuring Slipknot, Danzig, Five Finger Death Punch, Volbeat, Of Mice & Men, and Anthrax, the Knotfest lineup has now added Fear Factory, Napalm Death, Satyricon, Amen, Otep, Prong, Immolation, Attika 7 and more. The new additions will perform on the Extreme Stage 005 powered by Kinetik Power and Ernie Ball.

See below for details and look for an announcement in the coming weeks about Knotfest's Stage 004. As previously announced, Slipknot will close Stage 001 both Saturday and Sunday, with unique sets each night, featuring brand new music and an entirely new stage set and experience.

Slipknot recently posted a first new song in six years, “The Negative One,” which immediately hit #1 on Billboard’s Trending 140 Chart. You can check it out at this location. More...

Project Rogue is a new crowd funding project featuring existing Rogue Records America artists teaming up with 16 cross-genre metal titans to create a new studio and video project.

You can find the perks for donating and make your own contribution to the project at this location. All the Project Rogue artists will collaborate together, and the currently announced lineup is as follows: